24 Days Away

It is hard to believe that Spring is less than 24 days away after seeing the golf course and grounds covered with almost 10" of snow. As most of you know, being Canadian I enjoy the snow and I have missed having a true winter, this year was a little different.  Isla, our new Aussie Shepard pup agrees with my sentiments, but I know she is excited for the Spring to spend a little more time on the course this year. 

The recent thaw, warmer temperatures and the sun shining has created excitement and optimism for the 2021 golf season, however as of this morning (2-24) the course still had snow covered areas,  thawing soils and plenty of standing water.  Overall, the turf, including the Zoysia grass looks really good, the blanket of snow insulated the Zoysia from the extreme temperatures. Unfortunately, the greater chances of damage can occur in this transition; freeze-thaw periods and foot traffic across the greens can damage the roots and ultimately impact the health of the grass long into the season.  As course status changes, we will update the membership via-email and the Pro shop staff will also be a helpful source when finding out more information when or if the course will be open.

The question arises each year, what do you do in the winter? The Grounds team and I are busy with the typical preparations of building our team, equipment maintenance and yes, snow removal. This year our team focused on the golf course with many initiatives including:

• Dredging of the ditches on 4,6 and 7- This project has been long overdue and will be a multi-year process to remove the sediment that has impacting the flow of water from the the grounds.

The bunkers are almost 17 years old! Along with that, comes increased maintenance and challenges, we are starting to note deficiencies in drainage, turf quality on the bunker surrounds and the shapes have evolved with concentrated sand build-up in strategic areas.  This winter, our team added about 250 tons of new bunker sand, edged all 60 bunkers and regrassed a few key areas. Although these strategies are short-term in nature it will help with the the anticipated increase of play at HP.

The on-going tree management program focused once again on pruning, removal of dead and dying trees along with removal of 2 acres of invasive honey suckle.  We anticipate the tree work to be finished by mid-March with final stump removal and sodding or seeding of these areas.

The new forward tee on 18 is surviving the winter well! The tee will be closed for the month of March while establishment continues, a temporary teeing area will be located in the rough, close proximity to the new tee. A dying tree has been removed near the new tee, but we have been delayed in the clean-up due to the snow.

Thank-you,  as always for the feedback and questions about the course and grounds at Hyde Park, we look forward to seeing you soon.

Thank-you,

Pat O'Brien

Grounds Superintendent